Wheel clamps of the prior art generally include an array of three of more fingers which are maintained in clamped engagement with the exterior of a wheel rim by inward tensioning of the clamp or, alternatively. with the interior of a wheel rim by internal compressive force of the clamp assembly. Some rim engaging fingers of the prior art have been rotatable within a sleeve to orient a rim engagement portion of the finger as desired to clamp the exterior or interior of a wheel rim. Such a device is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,216, Swayne, assigned to the Assignee of the invention disclosed herein. The fingers may also include a base portion which may be provided with fallow grooves and may be placed in contact with the fallow of a wheel rim. The base portion may also have a knife edge to provide secure contact with certain wheel rim configurations. Some grabbers of the prior art have utilized finger plugs which may be unplugged from a base socket to facilitate placement of the grabber on the inside of certain rim configurations. Also, a grabber of the prior art has utilized a double ended finger plug in which one end of the plug is inserted through a base sleeve and the plug held in place in the sleeve by a pin, of the nature of a cotter pin, on the back side of the sleeve.
Grabbers of wheel clamps of the prior art suffer from a number of shortcomings. Only one or two finger end engagement surface profiles are available for engagement of the wheel rim. Grabbers with reversible finger plugs have required additional small parts to retain the fingers in the base sleeve. Also, only a single contour of the base has been available for the clamping on the surface of certain wheel rims.